Providence, RI - what's it like? (Warwick, Barrington: real estate, crime, how much)
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We're considering a move from San Diego to somewhere near Providence, RI.
We =brainy, crafty, liberal-minded family of four (kids are 5 and 7).
Seeking: Any insight that will help us get a sense of the character of Providence, the East side or neighboring towns and suburbs (my husband is considering a position at Brown).
We're amazed at the range of prices, and we're baffled by the fact that higher prices don't necessarily correlate with better schools. Or maybe the traditional rating systems just aren't well suited to accurate evaluation?
We're looking for schools where our kids are safe, where they are supported and encouraged, and where the families connected to the school are committed to their children's education. In San Diego, many families choose not to go to their local school which means that many kids don't know their own neighborhood peers. We're hoping to change that.
Here's what we're looking for. Can you tell us where we might find it?
We'd like...
-to be a part of a community
-safe schools for our kids
-a safe neighborhood
-nature, shops or cafes within walking distance of our home
-a yard
-a cool, old house with character
Give yourself 500 points for reading all the way to the bottom of my inquiry.
1000 bonus points for your reply!!
Many people who work at Brown live on the east side of Providence. Why? Walkability, convenience, culture, etc etc. The public junior high is fine. Classical is a good public high school. Some go for MLK as an elementary- Henry Barnard at RI College is also good. House prices will be CA prices.
Nearby towns with good public schools are Barrington and East Greenwich. There are many previous threads on both towns to wade through.
Great to hear that you are considering providence as your future home. It's a wonderful city and place to call home.
It sounds like the east side may be a great area for you. Also consider the armory-broadway. A LOT of families have moved into the broadway-armory neighborhood in the past 5-10 years though and are highly active/engaged in the n'hood. I do not have kids so I cannot speak to any individual school but one of my friends is a providence school teacher so I can ask her.
I was actually speaking with her a couple weeks ago on the system and she said there are quite a number of real good schools (some charter) in the area. A close friend and her husband have a 3 yr old so we introduced them since they live in fed hill and they were discussing this very topic.
Don't get me wrong though from what I hear the public school system is not the best so you'll have to do some research. Classical high school is absolutely top notch and nationally recognized so there are plenty of quality options with some research I hear.
I can tell you though if you want a highly engaged and actively involved neighborhood community to check out broadway-armory area. I would also consider wickenden/college hill too.
If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask!!!
We're considering a move from San Diego to somewhere near Providence, RI.
We =brainy, crafty, liberal-minded family of four (kids are 5 and 7).
Seeking: Any insight that will help us get a sense of the character of Providence, the East side or neighboring towns and suburbs (my husband is considering a position at Brown).
We're amazed at the range of prices, and we're baffled by the fact that higher prices don't necessarily correlate with better schools. Or maybe the traditional rating systems just aren't well suited to accurate evaluation?
We're looking for schools where our kids are safe, where they are supported and encouraged, and where the families connected to the school are committed to their children's education. In San Diego, many families choose not to go to their local school which means that many kids don't know their own neighborhood peers. We're hoping to change that.
Here's what we're looking for. Can you tell us where we might find it?
We'd like...
-to be a part of a community
-safe schools for our kids
-a safe neighborhood
-nature, shops or cafes within walking distance of our home
-a yard
-a cool, old house with character
Give yourself 500 points for reading all the way to the bottom of my inquiry.
1000 bonus points for your reply!!
I live on the East Side and have a 3rd grader and a pre-schooler who is starting Kindergarten. Our third grader goes to elementary school at MLK ES, which is one of 2 Providence Public Elementary Schools on the East Side. The other being Gregorian ES. We've been happy with MLK. I would definitely keep both schools in mind as options. Both have very involved PTOs.
With Providence Public Schools, each family has 2 neighborhood schools, for which 80% of the available class slots are reserved. Your neighborhood elementary schools are determined by which one is within one mile of your house. If you do not have an elementary school within one mile, then it's the school which is the closest overall. Feel free to PM me or post any other questions to the forum. Good luck with your move.
Thank you everyone!
Hollytree, Thanks for your reply! When you say "walkability" and "culture" ... what do people tend to walk to?
And on that note...what type of culture?
We will visit soon, but it's always hard to get a good idea from a quick visit, so I'm hoping you might give me a sense for what life is like in Providence. What does a typical day/week/month look like?
We're in the habit of spending our days outside in the garden or at the park. I'm hoping we may get to do a lot of that during milder weather, but I'm assuming that's not what happens all Winter out there.
Going outside is our answer to everything. What do families do in Providence when they're feeling stir-crazy?
Pvdjames, Thanks so much for the armory suggestion...I've found lots of helpful links. Can you tell me anything about crime and noise in that area?
Hopestreet, Thanks for the school data! We'll keep the 20/80 system and the 1 mile radius in mind when looking at houses.
EvenOV, from the way you describe yourselves, I would say there are many communities for you to live in RI. However, it will boil down to how important excellent public school are in the scheme. If you were using private schools or you had no children, your options would be much wider. You can't beat the East Side for the availability of cultural activity because of Brown/ RISD and what they bring to the neighborhood. And, it sounds like you'd be a good fit if you're "brainy" and "liberal." The East Side in general is probably considered the finest neighborhood in PVD. And, there are many different sub-neighborhoods within the ES that are enormously different in character.
I would normally say be prepared to pay mightily for a good house and neighborhood in Rhode Island, but since you're from California, our real estate prices must seem a bargain.
Thanks for your encouraging perspective, independent man! I don't know if housing prices seem like a bargain, but you certainly get more there for the price we pay here. Do people walk much in Providence? We just got back from a trip to Seattle where I was impressed by how much more bicycling and walking happens there than here.
8to32: I'm from NJ and he's from Boston, but if you have some specifics about what you think will be shocking for us...I'm all ears.
Thanks for the link, Hollytree. I'm reading everything I can get my hands on!
All: What are some of your favorite things about living in Providence?
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